Christ-centered thoughts and studies

Devotional: ‘Praying for Our Daily Need’

Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

One of the great blessings of being a child of God is that we may ask our heavenly Father to provide our needs. ‘Ask’ Jesus said, ‘and it shall be given to you.’ James echoes this thought as well – “You do not have because you do not ask God.” (James 4:2)

But does this mean that we have been given a blank check that allows us to ask God for anything we want? Consider what else James tells us about some of our prayers.

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3)

God is not obligated to answer prayers that are sinful or self-centered. James tells us that God sometimes does not give us what we pray for because what we are praying for is not a part of His perfect will. Consider what John tells us –

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

If what we are asking for is in agreement with God’s will, then we have every right to ask for it and to expect to receive it. However, if what we are asking for is not in agreement with God’s will, then we should not be asking for it nor should we expect God to give it to us.

Over the next several days we are going to consider some of the things that you and I should pray for. Today let’s consider praying for our most basic needs. Jesus told us to pray- Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.

Prayer is an expression of our dependence upon God. Prayerlessness on the other hand, is an expression of independence of God. People who pray for even their daily bread are acknowledging that they need God to help them with the most basic needs of life. Such ‘bread’ may include the food on the table, as well as strength to do God’s will.

Do not try to handle this day on your own. Go to God and ask Him to help you with every detail. We read from the book of Proverbs –

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)